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Genie
While the various species of Etherite are beings touched by the elements, the vast majority of them are Faetouched, coming from the *Hedgerow* and the lands of the Faelord. There is a whole other section of the supernal realm which appears to be based on the unusual concept of "elements", which reflects the ancient greek myths. These realms are "closer" to reality then most other supernal realms, making their contact with reality easier. Many sorcerers and witches are known to summon or manipulate these elemental realms, bringing various simple elemental beings into our reality (see Elementals, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Alien Archive). There are, of course, far more powerful beings that reside in these lands. Known globally as "genies", they are capable spellcasters and warriors and originally the ancestors of Etherites, before they came to reside in the Faelands. Genies are fickle creatures of elemental energy which love to trade, both in material goods, knowledge and magical power, and are viewed as intermediaries between the different supernal realms. Devils can sell weapons and goods to Genies and those could fall into the hands of their most deadly enemies (the Archons or Demons, depending on which devils you ask), and nobody would complain. Genies generally live in segregated clans, but on the border of their realms, where the elements mix to form Secondary Elements, they sometime live in united groups. Types of Genies * Djinn: Elemental beings of air, Djinni are fickle and short-tempered, but generally good natured and prefer to assist others with their magical powers. The leaders of their clans are known to be able to grant wishes to those who would capture them, and those wishes are generally granted with little afterthought or malice. * Efreet: Elemental beings of fire, Efreeti are destructive and haughty, and hated by almost all other elemental beings due to their militaristic nature. Their leaders can also grant wishes, but they often twist the words of those making them to suit the Efreet's sick, twisted sense of humour. * Jann: Minor genies, Janni are creatures made up of all elements, and serve as intermediaries, diplomats and traders between the elemental realms. Many are also pressed into makeshift armies of the different Elemental Lords. * Marid: Elemental beings of water, Marids are capricious and unpredictable, but generally among the strongest of geniekind. * Shaitan: Elemental beings of earth. the Shaitan are stern and proud, with an incredible wealth of mineral resources and precious gems, making them some of the richest of geniekind. There has been strange rumors that came out in the past few centuries, especially with the number of new settlements in the Secondary Elemental Realms, that there would some new species of genies springing from unions between different species of genie. Another important thing that many have started seeing is that with the omnipresence of Jann in all of the realm, there has been a merging of elemental forces in some areas, stabilizing the realm and letting more creatures survive there without issues. This is a very recent trend, however, and many genies only dismiss it as a fluke which will not affect them in the long run. Other creatures of the Elemental realm * Mephit: A diminutive servant race which appears in some shape or form throughout the Elemental Planes, mephits are an omnipresent sight whenever one deals with the Genies or visit their cities. * Demi-Elemental: Elemental creatures residing in the Demi-Planes at the border of the main Elemental Planes. * Aether Elemental: A composite elemental creature which resides in the cracks between the elemental realms. * Veela: Some theorize that Veela are ascended Mephit or elementals that would have gained full sentience. These androgynous beings represent the might of their elements even better then genies and have been growing steadily in numbers in recent years. * Wysp: Tiny elemental creatures made of primordial elemental matter, wysp are regarded as the source of all life on the Elemental Planes. The Realm of Wind * Invisible Stalkers: Sentient creatures of wind who exist to prowl in their aerial realm and devour those who get out of line, they resent the beings of the Prime Material plane due to their binding of many of their brothers and sisters. Over time, some of them turn into Aerial Servant. * Belkers: Fiendish creatures made of dark smoke, the belkers are xenophobic entities who only desire to destroy all non-elemental lifeforms. * Dragon Horse: The traditional mount of the Djinni Dervish, their use has dropped severely with the omnipresence of modern weaponry on the Lightning Plane front, those proud creatures now often roam free in the air of the Realm of Wind. * Mihstu: Yet another example of a creature of the Plane of Air that is a ruthless killer and merciless hunter, the Mihstu appear like a cloud of dust with long, barbed, wind tendrils. * Tempest Behemoth: The flying destroyer, one of the bringer of doom, those creatures fly in the Realm of Wind in hope their destructive power is called upon. A few even assist the Djinni in their war against the Efreet... * Anemos: The embodiments of the cardinal winds, the Anemos are beings which fly free anywhere they want. * Thunderbird: The wings of the storm, thunderbirds are immense birds which brings lightning and storms. * Vampiric Mist: Yet another monstrous creature which is formed from solidified air, these skeletal horrors prey upon beings with fluids. * Kirin: A legendary stag who raoms the sky in search of evil to punish. The Realm of Waves * Scylla: Nobody truly knows the origin of such a creature, but the scyllas roam the Plane of Water in search for preys, sometimes coming to Waterworlds in the Prime Material plane to ambush colonists and fishermen. * Charybdis: A legendary monster of the sea, this gigantic arthropod destroy ships and sea platforms with ease, and can even be seen in space. * Triton: Tritons are some of the weakest creatures in the Plane of Water, but they make up for this by having sheer numbers on their side. While the Marid are playful and unpredictable, the Triton are consummate builders and have a thriving civilisation on a few Waterworlds around the Prime Material plane to show for it. * Thalassic Behemoth: A living embodiment of destruction and divine punishment, these gigantic whale-crab hybrids often reside in the Plane of Water, a few even having been bound into service by powerful Marid. * Kappa: Strange humanoid turtles, the Kappa reside mainly in fresh water spots on islands throughout the Plane of Water, often coming to the Prime Material plane to play practical jokes on Prime Material plane creatures. * Isonade: The King of Sharks, the Isonade roam the waters of the Realm of Waves in search of preys, and a few of them find their way in the prime material plane, turning into devastating monsters who are just under your ship... * Lukwata: A predator living in the tropical waters of various islands of the Plane of water, lukwata are top predators that seem to descend from ancient eelsharks. * Wakandagi: Guardians of virgin water sources, primordial rivers and other clean water, Wakandagi are often seen by xenoexplorers as they try to find new land for colonists to settle. * Wendigo: A murderous spirit of ice and snow, the wendigo feeds on sentient being but not only that, drives other sentient beings to bouts of cannibalism while it slowly devours their souls. The Realm of Flames * Salamanders: A creature native to the plane of Fire, those sentient snake-like beings now reside in the Demi-Plane of Lava or in the Abyss, waiting for the Efreeti to fall to invade their ancestral homes as the true rulers of the Realm of Flames. * Phoenix: Also known as the King of Birds, the legendary fire bird Phoenix inhabits the Plane of Fire, where they roost and avoid attention from the other more malevolent creatures of flames. * Azer: The original craftsmen and engineer of the City of Brass, the Azer are mainly slaves to their Efreet overlords, building weapons, ships and wondrous items for them. Those who are free often are seen serving the Djinni in special units where they attempt to liberate many of their brothers and sisters. * Magma Ooze: Non-sentient creatures of the Realm of Flames, magma ooze often appear in the Demi-Plane of Lava. They are hunted as food by Salamanders and for sport by Efreet. * Magmin: Diminutive creatures of the Plane of Fire, Magmin are seen as too weak to be effectively used as slaves by the Efreet, who let them "live in peace" as long as they pay tribute to the local Efreet warlord. The Realm of Stones * Xorn: A gluttonous resident of the Plane of Earth, Xorn are the bane of the hard working Shaitan, often destroying precious mineral deposits or devouring entire mines worth of gemstones. * Crysmal: Looking like a scorpion made of multicoloured crystal, crysmals are often used by Shaitan as "bloodhounds" for precious gems, rewarding their "pets" with enough material to reproduce. * Thoqqua: A worm-like creature who mainly resides in the Demi-Plane of Lava, the Shaitan sometime use them to find rare mineral deposits due to their natural sense of finding it to feed. * Thunder Behemoth: A tool of divine punishment, many Thunder Behemoth prowl the land of the Realm of Stone in search for their next meal. Shaitans know better then to get in the way of such creatures. * Carnivorous Crystal: An unsual hazard of the Plane of Earth, carnivorous crystals are the equivalent of a carnivorous plant that would attack any living creature to appropriate its minerals and nutrient. Geography of the Elemental planes To look at the elemental planes as a whole is terrifying due to their sheer size. Early magic scientists theorized that the size of each of the elemental plane would be about planet size, but this has been proven wrong time and time again. Nowadays, it is more commonly seen that each of the plane is more or less infinite, in a similar manner as the observable universe. While most of the major population centres and important locales are located near some form of planar center, where natural gates to the Prime Elemental plane occur, travel to different locations now require planeships similar to starships seen in the Prime Material plane. Each primary plane is located in a cardinal direction from the planar center. To the north, one can see the Plane of water, which is mainly composed of infinite stretches of water, dotted with islands of different sizes. This infinite ocean is filled with all sorts of fishes, marine reptiles and marine mammals, as well as a large number of supernatural creatures. To the west, the Plane of air dominates. This plane is generally only an infinite stretch of open sky and clouds. Floating islands are an uncommon sight, but on these are built many wondrous Djinni cities, along with settlements for some of the other settlements for the creatures of the plane of air. Gigantic pterosaurs along with all kinds of birds fly freely throughout the Plane of air as well. To the south is the Plane of Fire, which looks like a ravaged, fire and lava covered wasteland. Cities and fortresses spring out of the ground like gigantic creations of a mad sculptor and craftsman. While the land would seem hostile to most life, gigantic dinosaurids and lizards make their nests in the less fire-worn regions. Finally, to the east we see the Plane of Earth. While the surface looks like a mix of all different types of terrains you could see on a planet, it is dominated by immense mountain ranges. While there are some surface settlements, the majority of the population actually lives underground, which is filled with rare metals, gems and other terrestrial wonders. The surface does have an incredible population of various mammals and other land animals. The border between the planar territories is where strange and violent events happen. Sometimes called demi-planes, semi-planes or quasi-planes, depending on a variety of factors determined by magical scientists who rarely agree on anything. The most important of all those areas is the demi-plane of lightning, where the majority of the engagements in the Efreeti-Djinni War occur, where both parties have fortresses either floating in the skies or carved out of the stone of the ground. This region is a constant turmoil of storm and strong winds, with lightning shooting at all times. Only the most powerful planeships can survive travelling this territory, let alone fight in it. At the border of the plane of water and air stands the demi-plane of ice. While the Eternal Waterfall, where the water of the Plane of water fall into the endless skies of the Plane of air, is a sight to behold, on top of it is a frozen wasteland. While there is still life under the sea and over it on the endless ice sheets, it is probably one of the harshest environment in the Plane of water. On the other end of the Plane of water, at the border with the Plane of earth, stands the demi-plain of silt and sand. The whole region looks like a desolate area where the ocean would have pulled away, leaving only lifeless sand and deadly silt. Again, there is life there still, with crabs and anthropods of all sizes hiding, especially where some water still remains. Finally, at the border of the plane of fire and earth stands the demi-plane of lava. Millions upon millions of volcanoes constantly spew lava, dust and smoke in this forsaken land, where the only life which remains is that which has accustomed itself to the life on elemental planes. This land is, however, extremely rich in minerals, especially metals, which is sometimes seen as a reason for conflict between the Efreeti and the Shaitan. Landmarks and important places The City of Brass A marvel of azer craftsmanship, showing all the glory of the Realm of flames, the City of Brass has long since been the home of the Efreeti High Caliph (LE Efreet Envoy 8 / Soldier 12) and his court. The conquest of the city apparently took a single day and a single death, so the legends would say. The city itself is now the size of a hiveworld, with thousands of districts and sub-sections each ruled by brothers and sons of the High Caliph. Many such locales are gigantic forges and factories where the Efreeti's war machine is built, from simple artillery pieces to the mighty flamecast battleships. The majority of the population is composed of enslaved (but still rather free, at this point) azer and various types of mephits, with the Efreet towering over the population not only physically, but as they live in the upper parts of the towers of brass, bronze and gold which cover the city. The Pillar of Destiny An usual mountain in the Plane of earth, the Pillar of Destiny seems to go on forever into the sky. It is said that none ever climbed all the way to the top. The interior of the Pillar of Destiny is just as unusual, as the material in it is said to impede the movement of all genies and elementals, forcing them to manually dig through it. Inside the base of the mountain of titanic proportion is a strange, abandoned city which apparently predates even the arrival of the shaitan to the Realm of Stones. No being would want to be seen anywhere near this strange city, which is said to be filled with both magical and technological wonders, but even such an abandoned locale has its few strange creatures. The Gathering Storm An oddity in the Realm of Wind, the Gathering Storm is a convergence of all four cardinal winds, along with a large amount of clouds. While it looks like the place will explode into a hurricane of mythic proportion any minute, it has remained as such for more then 3000 years. There are two floating island in the Gathering Storm, which most elemental being avoid, but rumour has it that both of them would have strange secrets along with majestic treasure on them... The *Reasons* of the Elemental Planes *Freedom* *Might Makes Right* *Survival of the Fittest* *Isolation* The Efreeti - Djinni War While the global wars between the Elven Star Empire and the Union of Elven Realms is often seen as the greatest war in history (even by Terran standards), it is nothing compared to some of the ancient wars in the Supernal realms. One such great war is the Efreeti - Djinni conflict, which nobody really knows how it started, but has been going on for at least longer then written record from reality exist. While the original battles were skirmishes between genies over various slights or territory in the Realm of Lightning, it kept escalating over time as technology and weapons grew. What sparked a revolution in the war was when the Elves were exiled to reality, but they kept trading with both groups, bringing them Hu Syndicates weapons and technology to empower them. Nowadays, the skies of the Realm of Lightning is filled with unusual warships based on Elven technology, manned by hundreds of Efreet, Djinn, Janns and other slave races of the Efreeti and allies of the Djinni. Gigantic City of Brass-crafted artillery guns pound on energy shields put up by the Djinns as their robotic war machines fly down to take them out. In the past hundred years, the balance of power has started shifting as the Efreeti military has been enlisting troops from the Nine Hells, under order from various Barons and Dukes of Hell, which get large amounts of military goods in return. The Djinni have only been able to negotiate with other Supernal realms as of recently, and their forces were pushed back severely, losing even some critical fortresses in the Realm of Lightning. The Shaitan and Marid try their hardest not to get involved in the conflict outside of trading equally with each side so as to not attract military attention from either side. While the Djinni were generally seen as well-mannered and focusing all their attention on the Efreeti in the past, this has changed in recent centuries, as they ambush and capture trade caravans and destroy supply lines which could be sent to allies of the Efreeti in the conflict. The Efreeti, on the other hand, have fortified every position in the Realm of Lightning and Realm of Lava, preventing any trade ships from going to and from those regions without being thoroughly searched by Efreet military crews. Near gates to foreign planes, like the Nine Hells, the Abyss or Nirvana, Djinni and Efreeti warships keep a close look at every coming and going to make sure their opponents do not receive support from a foreign source that they would not be aware of. While the Elemental Planes were never peaceful, this has turned the entire planar region into a dangerous political landscare one must navigate carefully. The Div Conspiracy While this great war is going on, in the depths of the Underworld, the Div are waiting for their chance. Exiled and fallen genies, the Divs have long been regarded as a second-tier group of supernatural beings by every major realms of the Supernal Realms. But recently, they have been growing in strength and especially in boldness, attacking daemon strongholds, increasing drastically their actions in reality, which drew the attention of the Hunter's Guild Association, positioning themselves in the Abyss, raiding trade ships coming from hell. But worst of all, they have been infiltrating everything they could. Acting as advisers to rulers of the different evil realms, the Div have been trying to create a rift between all the realms and the Elemental Realms. While their end goal is not easily discernible, they are more then likely a threat for all of the beings in the Elemental Realms. Many Divs have also been going into traditionally “genie” occupations for the people of the Prime Material Plane, assisting with the terraforming of isolated planets, performing simple tasks in exchange for trinkets and even sometimes performing miracles and granting wishes for mortal patrons. While they keep their natural hatred for all that is good and beautiful, they often keep it under wrap to make sure they become more and more useful for those on the Prime Material Plane. It is also rumored that much of the recent escalation in the Efreeti-Djinni War has actually been a plot by the Div, disguising as either of the faction and committing various war crimes which simply inflames the situation. Attacks against Marid and Shaitan outposts have also been blamed on Efreet and Djinn forces but have later been found out to be actually done by disguised Div troops. Category:Genie